June 14, 2009

I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30 AM to catch the last few hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans today. As always it proves itself to be the greatest event in motorsport. No other event tests cars and drivers like Le Mans. Leading the way always in technical innovations the sport welcomed Diesel power just a few years ago and the cars have dominated the LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype) Class ever since. To date that has meant Audi and their all-conquering R10 cars. In 2007 another manufacturer fielded a Diesel entry: Peugeot. They chased Audi and would have, SHOULD have, beaten them last year as their 908s were three seconds a lap faster than the Audis. Audi however proved that speed is not everything and managed to pull off a near-miraculous win by staying focused and running a great race, using strategy and tactics. Many have attributed the win to tire choice in the rainy final laps, but really it was the Audi team’s complete performance, from start to finish over 24 hours that kept them within striking distance for that final tire choice. (If you haven’t watched “Truth in 24” the documentary about last years’ race, do it now!)

3 Comments

I think I watched 14 of the 24 hours. But did you miss the “Le mans Ledgends” one hour race that ran earlier on Saturday ??
A lister-Jaguar, a Ferrari an an E-type like yours battled for victory. The E-type spun off in the middle of the race but the other two cars
battled all the way going sideways in many of the corners. In the end the Ferrari won by 50 yards over the Jaguar ! Great race.

Anyway, in the main race i had a good laugh when a crew member in the pit exlained to the reporter about a problem they were having.
He said that the car had an electrical problem. “what kind of electrical problem”, the reporter asked. ” A conrod smashed through the block and crushed the
alternator” the mechanic replied. I guess that is the spirit of Lemans.
Hopefully I will be among the spectators next year.